New York Giants: Carlton Powell

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Defensive tackle Marvin Austin said his back is feeling better, but he will undergo further tests, according to head coach Tom Coughlin.

Coughlin was asked if Austin has suffered any structural or muscular damage to his back, which was examined Tuesday.

"Structural being what? I mean, they are dealing with some issues there," Coughlin said. "I am not going to tell you exactly what it is. We are going to have to wait and see. He is not going to be able to play this week."

"He said he felt pretty good today," Coughlin added. "A lot of the early symptoms were no longer there. They are going to do another set of tests on him. We are hoping within a reasonable amount of time he can come back and play."

The Giants' defensive tackles have been hammered by injuries. On Thursday, the team waived injured linebacker Clint Sintim and injured defensive end Justin Trattou to make room for defensive tackle Bobby Skinner, as well as cornerback/returner Laron Scott. The Giants then waived Skinner after one practice and signed former Denver defensive tackle Marcus Thomas.

"We found ourselves in need of players at a certain position and we felt it was probably the best way to go for both," Coughlin said. "Clint is probably a ways away. In (Trattou's) case, the doctors tell us he is quite a ways away and we felt this was something we needed to do to bolster the (defensive tackle) spot."

When he met with reporters earlier in the day, Austin said he did not suffer any serious issues with his back.

"I don't think it is going to be something that lags on," Austin said. "That is why we want to get everything right now, so it won't be something that goes on for a period of time."

"They evaluated him last night and they felt like if he kept going the way he is right now, he would have only gotten worse and worse," Coughlin said. "They shut him down."

Sintim, 26, was not going to be able to return for some time. The team's second round pick in 2009 was on the team's PUP list and failed his physical. Considered a long shot to make the team after suffering a torn ACL and patellar tendon last preseason, he hasn't played since last preseason.

Sintim also tore his ACL near the end of the 2010 season. The team drafted him with high hopes out of Virginia, where he had 245 tackles and 27 sacks in 49 games. Sintim played in 24 games in his first two seasons with the Giants and had nine tackles during his career.

The Giants' defensive tackle unit has been in flux all week. The team lost Shaun Rogers for the season due to a blood clot in his leg. Backup defensive tackle Martin Parker was waived/injured after he needed surgery for a herniated disk in his back. Austin is sidelined for now and Canty is on the PUP list and may not be ready to start the season.

The Giants signed defensive tackles Oren Wilson and Carlton Powell on Wednesday and brought in Thomas for a workout before signing him. The 6-3, 307-pound Thomas played his first five seasons in Denver and had 180 tackles, one sack and two interceptions in 34 starts.

"It was a wild week for us, to say the least," Austin said. "It was a tough week for the D-tackle position."

The Giants have added two more healthy defensive tackles, signing Carlton Powell and Oren Wilson.

The team has lost Shaun Rogers for the season with a blood clot, and Marvin Austin (back) and Chris Canty (knee) are also sidelined at the moment. Austin had his back examined on Tuesday, but the Giants won't have an update on his status until Thursday. Canty is on the PUP list as he recovers from offseason knee surgery, and his status for the regular season opener is in doubt.

Thin at defensive tackle, the Giants made the two moves on Wednesday, and say both will be in uniform against the Jets on Saturday. The team waived/injured defensive tackle Martin Parker, who will need surgery for a herniated disk in his back.

Powell last played with the Atlanta Falcons. The 6-foot-3, 312-pound defensive tackle played in three games last season and had one tackle. He was a fifth-round draft pick by the Denver Broncos in 2008 out of Virginia Tech, but spent his rookie season on the reserve/physically unable to perform list.

Powell has bounced around since. He was on Cleveland and Denver's practice squads, and was in Tampa Bay's and the Jets' training camps the past two years.

The 6-foot-1, 305-pound Wilson started 26 games at Michigan State from 2007-2009, and had 43 tackles and a sack. He also appeared in three bowl games at MSU but sat out the 2010 season after transferring to Akron, where he had 38 tackles and 3.5 sacks last year. Wilson was one of 11 Michigan State players who were sentenced for involvement in a residence hall assault in 2009. He pleaded guilty to two counts of misdemeanor assault and battery in the Nov. 22, 2009 incident and admitted to punching one person and kicking another.